Erik Kain in Forbes on the latest attempt to put scare warnings on pretty much all video games sold in stores:
“WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior.”
That’s the label Reps. Joe Baca and Frank Wolf want to place on every video game that hits store shelves.
Well okay, not every video game. Just every game with an E (Everyone) rating or higher. Only EC (Early Childhood) games would avoid the label. Every other game, regardless of content, would have the equivalent of cigarette warnings slapped on them.
This means that games like Tiger Woods PGA Tour would get a violence-warning label.
Can I humbly suggest that we sponsor a bill that would slap warning labels on all our elected officials?
“WARNING: May enact pointless, freedom-quashing laws based on bad data and lies due to sanctimonious pandering to special interest groups.”
The EFF is on the case.
EFF has put together an action alert that lets you to tell your Congressmember that you stand against the unnecessary and burdensome regulation of speech in video games, and that she should too.
Even though it is not required by law, many video game developers have been self-regulating games for age-level and content with Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) ratings since 1994. That system is widely understood in the marketplace, and allows consumers and parents to make informed decisions about their video game purchases.
